CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – (April 12, 2019) The community of South Texas had the opportunity to “Meet the Blues” at Veterans Memorial High School prior to the annual Wings over South Texas Air Show, April 13 – 14.
More than 300 families and veterans attended the event and were afforded the opportunity to meet some of the top acts performing in the air show being held aboard Naval Air Station Corpus Christi.
“We get to come here for a couple of days and be able to show the public what is great about the Navy and Marine Corps,” said Capt. Eric Doyle, of League City, Texas, commanding officer, U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, the Blue Angels. “The ‘Meet the Blues’ provided the community the opportunity to meet some of the great Sailors and Marines who make up our great team. Hopefully, it inspires them to serve in America’s Navy and Marine Corps or in some other capacity in their community.”
Joey Villareal of Corpus Christie brought his son, Jacob, to meet the Blues Angels.
“This is great to be able to meet the pilots; you see them in the air, but to be able to have one-on-one contact with them means a lot to my son,” said Villareal. “The Blues are the crème de la crème. They are positive role modes and my son wishes to be one of them.”
According to Doyle, many of the crew began their aviation careers in Corpus Christi and that NAS Corpus Christi was home to the Blue Angels in the 1950’s.
He shared his keys to success with the audience.
“Trust and teamwork are the two things that make the Blue Angels successful,” said Doyle, a 1996 graduate of Texas A&M University. “All the Sailors and Marines you see with me today are the reason why we can bring demonstrations across the country to 32 cities every year.”
After introductions, the pilots and maintainers posed for photos with the attendees and signed autographs.
The mission of the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron is to showcase the pride and professionalism of the United States Navy and Marine Corps by inspiring a culture of excellence and service to country through flight demonstrations and community outreach.